Over five years ago, James

Lamar Watson Jr. reported his wife missing, telling police she walked

away from their home following a late-night argument between the couple.

His story will be tested in

court next week as Fulton County prosecutors try the Fayetteville man

for Beverley Watson's murder. The case is in Fulton County's jurisdiction

because her remains were found in a wooded area north of the Fayette County

line almost three years ago.

Beverley Watson's disappearance

was originally investigated by the Fayette County Sheriff's Department,

and several detectives and officers are on the state's witness list to

testify during the trial, which is scheduled to last no more than two

weeks.

Watson was indicted for his

wife's murder in January by a Fulton County grand jury. After his subsequent

arrest, prosecutors attributed the indictment to the results of new test

results from evidence.

Jury selection for the trial

is slated to begin Monday. Watson is represented by Lee Sexton and Ricky

Morris Jr., both of Jonesboro.

Although prosecutors were able

to secure the indictment, it is clear they are unsure exactly how Beverley

Watson died. According to the indictment, her death occurred "by

a method which is unknown to the grand jury at this time."

Watson's attorney has said

a medical examiner told him there was no way to tell whether Beverley

Watson died of foul play or natural causes.

Before Beverley Watson's death,

she at one time filed for divorce though the couple later reconciled.

Watson remains free on $100,000

bond, though he is under strict orders from Superior Court Judge T. Jackson

Bedford Jr. not to have any contact with potential witnesses in the case

after prosecutors complained that he had been attempting to intimidate

witnesses.

Watson, a former part-time

narcotics officer for the Riverdale Police Department, was also ordered

to surrender any firearms in his possession and adhere to a strict curfew

as part of his bond conditions set by Judge Bedford.

The case took a number of twists

and turns before Watson's arrest in January. In July 1999, he took custody

of his wife's remains and had them cremated before they could be preserved

as evidence.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's

Office, which examined the remains, eventually concluded that the cause

of her death was undetermined.

The case has also resulted

in several federal lawsuits, as Jim Watson sued the Sheriff's Department

over a traffic stop months after his wife's disappearance that was ordered

for slander, but both suits were dismissed by a federal judge.

The traffic stop was for having

illegally tinted windows, and deputies discovered a gun in the vehicle

that was later returned to Jim Watson.

The department was also sued

in another case relating to the traffic stop as a former lieutenant at

the Sheriff's Department claimed he was wrongfully fired for speaking

to Watson's attorney about the traffic stop after department officials

told him not to.

Watson was first publicly identified

as the prime suspect in a hearing on that case in May of 2000 by Jordan

and several other deputies.

After learning Mrs. Watson's

remains were found, a local attorney turned over documents to authorities

that she had given him in case she were ever found dead. The attorney,

Jim Bischoff, represented Mrs. Watson in a divorce proceeding she brought

several years prior to her disappearance that was never consummated.

Mrs. Watson's father, Fred

Callaway, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jim Watson, which was

ultimately settled in August 2000. Callaway lodged the suit on behalf

of the Watsons' two children, but the details of the settlement were not

released.

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